Beet-harvester.



L. GETTELMAN N.

BEET HARVESTER.

APPLIUATIDN FILED JULY 5,1907.

L. GETTELMAN N.

BEBT HARVESTER.

PPLIoATIoN FILED JULY 5,1907.

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BELT HARVESTER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 5, 1907.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

Patented Apr. 27, 1909.

LUDWIG GETTELMANN, OF SOUTH GERMANTOWN, WISCONSIN.

BEET-HARVESTER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 27, 1909.

Application med. July 5, 1907. Serial No. 882,142.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, LUDWIG GETTELMANN, a citizen of the United States, and resident of South Germantown, in the county of Washinvton and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Beet-Harvesters; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

The object of my invention is to provide simple; economical and edective beet-liarvesters, said invention combining, in a single machine, means whereby beets are first topped, then loosened and lifted from the soil and thereafter elevated by a conveyer, the action of which conveyer tends to shake off the loose soil from the beets previous to the discharge of same into a suitable receptacle, said invention embodying features of my beet-top er atent of July 30, 1907, No. 861,511, an a eet-harvester patented by me December 26, 1905, No. 808,281.

The invention therefore consists in various novel mechanical features and combination of parts as herein described with reference to the accompanying drawings and subsequently claimed.

In the drawings: 'Figure 1 represents a side-elevation of a beet-harvester embodying the features of my invention, with parts broken away and parts in section to better illustrate the invention, as indicated by line 1*-1 of Fig. 2 Fig. 2, a plan view of the same; and Fig. 3, an enlarged detail longitudinal section, the section being indicated by line 3 3 of Fig. 2. l

Referring by letter to the drawings, A indicates a transverse forward beam having vertically depending terminals, to which are secured bearing-brackets c for pintle-rods b, the shank-portions of which pintle-rods have mounted thereon a pair of supporting caster wheels. Fastened at their forward ends to thebeam A are parallel beams B, B, B. The rear end ofthe beam B is connected to the beam B', while all the beams are braced by and connected to a housing or Gear-casing C. A sleeve c of the gear-casing has revolubly mounted therein an axle D 'carrying traction-wheels E, these wheels together with the caster-wheels serving as a support for the described beam members, which members together constitute a rigid truck, having secured thereto a drivers seat of the usual type.

An elevator-frame is pivotally suspended between the truck-beams B, B by means of bolts d, which bolts pass through the rear ends of said beams and side-plate F of the elevator-frame. The said frame projects forwardly and downwardly from the truckaXle and is provided with a series of rollercarrying spindles g for an endless conveyerchain G. The conveyer-chain travels over s rocket-wheels 'hat the discharge-end of the e evator-frame, the said sprocket-wheels being fast on a drive-shaft which shaft is mounted in bearings secured to the elevatorframe, there being a suitable guide-roller for the slack-side of said conveyer-chain also secured thereto. The mouth-end of the elevator-frame has rigidly secured thereto a yoke H, to which yoke are secured boot-extensions I of shoes J, the toe-portions of the v shoes bei-ng pointed and slightly flared in opposite directions to facilitate loosening the soil and lifting the beets as they enter therebetween. The heel-portions of the shoes and lower boot-portions have rearwardly and upwardly inclined prongs K, which guide the excavated beets upon the elevator conveyer chain. The said beets when lifted are positively delivered to the conveyer by means of a driven reel L, that is disposed directly above the shoes and secured to a shaft m, mounted in bearings of arms n, which arms are pivoted to the .elevator side-plates. The reel-arms n 'being pivoted to the aforesaid elevator automatically yield with the rotary reel L to resistance of the mass of material crowded back on the prongs of the lifting shoes J and thus bruising of the beets is prevented.

An arched draft-bail M is pivoted to the forward end of the yoke H, having its free end provided with a Whittle-tree cli o that projects over and above the beam of the truck, the draft-bail being entirely independent of the latter. A tongue or pole N however is pivoted between the truck-beams B,

B by means of hounds p, the tongue serving n draft-bail M, the hand-lever being fulcrumed ata greater peripheral swin'fJr upward upon its in a sector g secured to the truck-beam B and having notches for the reception of a springcontrolled detent carried by said hand-lever.

As shown in Fig. 1, of the drawings the elevator is depressed or in its working-position, and to lift the same the hand-lever 1s pulled rearward, thus causing said elevator to ivot-bolts d, in whic position it may be ocked by the detent, either for the purpose of shallow draft or transportation.

Motion is transmitted from the truck-axle l) to the conveyer-chain G by a gear-wheel P fast on said truck-axle and meshing with a pinion Q that is carried by a counter-shaft fr, which shaft is journaled in boxes secured to the beams B, B. Also secured to this shaft r is a sprocket-wheel lt, the said sprocketwheel being in link-belt connection with a smaller sprocket-wheel S fast on the driveshaft t of the conveyer-chain. The truckaxle at this side of the machine carries a sprocket-wheel T which wheel transmits motion 'to the reel L, the shaft m of which has fast thereon a sprocket-wheel U that is in link-belt connection with said sprocketwheel T, there being a suitable spring-controlled slack-adjusting sprocket s 1n connection with the truck-beam B for the link-belt, Ears t depending from the truck-beams B, B, have mechanism supporting-frame. The toppingmechanism supporting frame has a pair of lvertically disposed bearings for a s )indle w, which spindle carries a cutting dis V, the spindle being in bevel-gear connection with a drive-shaft W. The drive-shaft W in turn is coupled to a shaft W by means of a knuckleings of a cross-brace c This shaft W suitable gearing nested in the gearing-casing, motion being imparted thereto by the axle l) and gear-casing C.

whereby rotation of the cutting-disk V is at- 5 tained.

A lagged feed-roller D is located forward of the disk V and revolubly mounted in af ceptacle,

frame E, which frame is pivoted to the arms u of the topping-mechanism frame. roller is provided with a spring-controlled bolt i', which connects its frame with said arms u, so that the position ofsaid roller may be varied with relation to the cutting-edge of the disk. The roller D is positively driven speed than the forward travel of the machine by a sprocketwheel y" fast on the roller axle 7c', the sprocketwheel being in link-belt connection with a sprocket-wheel m secured to a counter-shaft n. The said counter-shaft is hung in bearings secured to the beams B B, there being another sprocket-wheel o of this countershaft in link-belt connection with a sprocketwheel p', which sprocket-wheel is fast on the pivoted thereto arms u of a topping- This in the meantime having thoroughly cleansed 115 traveling under the ground 1s 1n gear-connection with a g 'with the severed portions of the beets, thus preventing the cutting-edges of said disk beclogged by moist or dead leaves and the 1 e.

The entire topping-mechanism is suspended by a chain g from a cross-bar of the draftbail M, the chain being connected to the to ping-mechanism frame and is adjustab y inked to a hook r of the cross-bar. By means of this flexible connection theelevation of the cutting-disk is positively set with relation to the draft-rigging, the said'mechanism being however free to rise or fall as it contacts with beets of uneven hei ht. In order that the weight of the aforesa1d mechanism may be relieved somewhat from exerting pressure upon the beets as the feed-roller rides over the same, a counter-balance s ring s is adjustably connected to the crossrace c by means oi a bolt, the spring being fast at its outer end to a chain t', which chain asses over a pulley u', and is secured to saidp feedroller frame E. Pulley u is attached to the truck-beam B', by which arrangement it will be seen that the weight resistance ofthe topping-mechanism is taken up by the truc 95 while owing to the suspension-chain q being connected by the draft-rigging, the said to ping-mechanism is raised or lowered with t e adjustment of the beet liftin mechanism under the control of the handever.

Assuming the machine to be traveling forward and the parts adjusted in their working position, as shown in Fig. 1, the cutting-dis I severs the beet-tops and throws them toV one joint e, the shaft W being mounted in beari side, following which the liftin -shoes now wilI loosen the same and straddle the beets, and in its forward movement these shoes tend to throw l l v the beets upward and back. The reel then sweeps the loose beets backward to the elevator, which elevator carries the same up- Ward and discharges them into a suitable resuch as indicated by dotted lines in 5 Fig. "1. The vibration of the conveyer-chain the beets from any adhering soil.

I claim:

In a beet-harvester having a wheel-supported truck-frame, an. inclined elevatormechanism pivoted to the truck-frame rearward of its wheels, the inclined elevatormechanism being provided with a beet-lifting mechanism at its lower forward end, a forwardly inclined beet-topping mechanism pivoted to the truck-frame and 1n advance of 125 the beet-lifting mechanism, a draft-bail in e pivotal -connection with said elevator-mechanism, the draft-bail being independent of the truck-frame, a flexible connection between the draft-bail and `beet-topping mechanism, a pole in connection with said trucki.mantoWn in the county of Washington and frame, and a detent lever carried by the State of Wisconsin in the presence of tWo aforesaid truck-frame in connection with the i Witnesses.

LUDWIG GETTELMANN.

elevator-mechanism, whereby the same tol 5 gether with the draft-bail is raised or lowered. Witnesses:

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I i HENRY V. SGHWALBACH, have hereunto set my hand at South Gerl FRANK J. SCHWALBACH. 

